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Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Much like Joy (1935), "the costliest perfume in the world" was launched just when the Great Depression was hitting Jean Patou's wealthiest American clients the hardest, the delicious Délices, also by Jean Patou, was issued in 1940, smack when World War II had shown its ugly face. Perhaps to divert attention from the difficult days ahead? Or in an (alas vain) attempt to exorcise the demons of war which were only too fresh in the memory of its contemporaries? In 1940 few were willing to believe the monstrosities would last for long and Jean Patou had died 5 years before, leaving the house to his sister and her husband Raymond Barbas. Some decades later, few are willing to believe that mementos of that era have resonance today; yet they do. To this day this Patou fragrance remains one of those Great Unknowns of Perfumeland, being one of the more elusive fragrances in the Patou portfolio, but also in the collective perfume vaults. In vain would one search for notes or family classification, as they are not listed anywhere, and I was prompted to tackle it by the timely question of one of my readers and friends in scent, , Melissa, so I am tentatively trying to give you my own view of its delicious, decadent character.

Délices strikes me as spicy, with a light and fresh bouquet of lavender and aldehydic notes for pizzaz, murked by an amber bottom that reminds me of classic orientals and chypres of the 30s, by Patou or otherwise. There is also a kinship with 1000, a later floral chypre woody (1972) by Jean Patou which looks like it has been inspired by its ancestor because of its chypré tonalities and rosy nuances which hide in the heart of both perfumes. Although its time of composing would tie it to perfumer Henri Giboulet, resident at Patou since 1940 and most famous for the soft floral Gin Fizz for Lubin (1955), the style and architecture of Delices personally reminds me of Henri Alméras's opus (both for Poiret and Patou).

Délices was re-issued by Jean Kerleo (in hose perfumer from 1968 till 1997) in the collective opus Ma Collection (Parfums d'epoque, 1925-1964) for Jean Patou in 1984, a lineup of poetic names such as Adieu Sagesse (Goodbuy Wisdom), Que sais-je? (What do I know?), or L'Heure Attendue (The Long Awaited for Hour) among others. However Delices was not included in the box-set of minis issued as a commemorative gift package for that relaunch, making it really hard to track down a bottle of the scent. In general if you find big bottles from that time-frame, consider yourself very lucky indeed as they were reinterpretations that followed the original formulae as closely as possible and were constructed with the utmost care by the in-house perfumer, before Procter & Gamble bought the house of Patou, putting the illustrious archives into oblivion.

I wonder if Angostura really smelled like bitters? That would make for an amazing scent.

When I bought some of the reissues at Bergdorfs in the 1980s, they offered the minis separately as well as in a set, so it is possible that there are a few still kicking around. Sadly, I don't even remember what I did with my Patous (Cocktail, Que Sais-Je, and a mini of Vacances) -- what I wouldn't give to have them now!

Patou's Angostura was indeed inspired by the famous bitters. There was the concept of the scent bar at Patou and fragrances were thought of in relation to drink (hence the 3 "Cocktails" and the mix and match scent bar), so it Angostura fits that plan.

Great memory, you're correct: there was a minis coffret with the 12 scents of Ma Collection (but not Delices among them) and it does surface from time to time for reasonable prices: a lovely way to get to know them!!Ah... a pity on your Patous. I hope you remember what you did with them and they're only hiding in an attic or something: Que sais Je and Vacances especially are truly wonderful...

I've managed to get big bottles of both Colony and L'Heure Attendue. I love Colony especially, it makes me smile whenever I wear it. There's something so cheering about the pineapple, yet the base means it's not at all childish or girlie - it's got dark depths.

I'm torn between wishing the old scents would be rereleased, and glad that they haven't been gutted to comply with modern regulations and fashions.

Thanks for your quick reply to my question about this lovely fragrance. And great idea to do it as a review. I now own a number of the Ma Collection, including Adieu Sagesse, L'Heure Attendue, Chaldee and Delices. They are among my favorite classic fragrances. Chaya, if you are still reading, thanks for telling Jarvis about this bottle. He passed the secret on to me!

glad you found Colony to your taste, it's surprisingly delicious and "modern" in its use of the fruity notes. As to the dilemma of "rescuing skewed or letting die an abrupt death" I am equally torn... :-(

you're the one to thank for giving me the incentive to go get my bum down and actually review it!! I hadn't secured enough when I was doing my Ma Collection reviews, and later I forgot to tackle it. Your collection sounds exquisite! (Chaldee is one of my favs in the lineup!)

Oh my, another Patou to lust after! My favorite line of all time, and now I have to want yet another lost beauty?

Recently a perfume friend sent me small samples of two others on your "lost" list - Cocktail Dry and Lasso. The former is so very like a dry martini it's amazing; Apothia's Velvet Rope is a pale imitation next to its expert construction. And Lasso - I had no idea that Patou had a leather chypre in its back catalog, and after trying it I would crawl on broken glass to have a bottle of my own.

I just found a couple minis of the woody Normandie, which I love, and I own full bottles of my very favorites, Colony and Vacances. I am trying not to think too much about a future world without these perfumes.

Elena Vosnaki is executive editor of Fragrantica.gr, the leader in fragrance information in Greek, as well as a senior editor for the top english-speaking Fragrantica.com webzine.

Vosnaki has been Fragrance Expert on About.com and the Perfume History Curator of the Be Open Foundation exhibitionThe Garden of Wonders, A Journey in Scents in Milan. Her writing has been twice shortlisted in the FIFI Editorial Excellence Awards and is extensively quoted by authors. She is an evaluating expert on Osmoz.com.

Perfume Shrine is an award winning blog of 1000s of fragrance reviews (modern, niche, classic, vintage), articles on perfume history and aroma materials, comparisons of scents, interviews with perfumers & the fragrance industry, perfume shopping as well as scented travel memoirs, fine cuisine, tips on building a fragrance wardrobe and musings about the pleasures of the senses.